that sounds like a great start to yer project, Keep a eye out on ebay, amazing how many things ya need will pop up there
Junior Member
Ok...
The post in my last thread got me wondering if I should consider this project. Restoring a 1969 GS400 Convertable Stage 1. having NEVER done a real restoration I am not sure even if i am capable or if the car is restorable.
only 212 of these cars were created so I took another different look at the car. Can you guys help me a bit on whats gonna work and whats not?
Of course EVERY old car comes with a story and here is this ones:
Car was involved in a robbery / shootout in 1973 resulting in death of driver (shotgun pellets superficial wounds to the door & shattered drivers side windows) NO seats whatever not even frames or rails, door panels and some misc interior parts are in trunk and in fairly good shape hood and trunk lid work great and are cosmetically good no dings hinges in great shape keys all in car and work. it rolls, appears to have all body parts and suprisingly little rust and damage overall. car was i found out inside for many years Convertable top WORKS! latches are in tact and even the back glass is undamaged. of course there is no material and this makes it look bad at first glance. no grille, headlights or anything in the nose of this car I did see the headlight benzels in the trunk. Car is currently in my shop ( sitting beside the 61 manx Dunebuggy ) good intentions.... small budget.
back to the buick...
Motor is in car minus carberator has the stage1 stickers on valve covers and stage1 hood emblems in place. No transmission or driveshaft.
has air conditioning and looks like most engine carpartment components..
Dash pad good, dash fair, instument gages are all there, steering wheel ok, maybe everything interior but no seats. I will check VIN numbers this week for verification if someone here can help? and I will also take pictures while at it anything in particular i should photgraph that would be helpful? car is white and looks like original paint. anything else important to look at?
Member
that sounds like a great start to yer project, Keep a eye out on ebay, amazing how many things ya need will pop up there
To fast old,to slow smart
Newbie
AS A FELLOW VERY AMATURE RESTORER,I HAVE A 78 CENTURY WGN THAT I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF A FRAME OFF REBUILD,DON'T BE SCARED. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A LOT OF INDOOR SPACE AND TIME, AND START SLOWLY,CATALOG WHAT YOU NEED AND TAKE LOTS OF CLEAR PICTURES BEFORE YOU TAKE ANYTHING APART. IT WILL TAKE A LONG WHILE TO REASSEMBLE AND ITS AMAZING HOW MUCH YOU FORGET. THEN START WITH A DOOR OR FENDER AND FIX THAT AND MOVE TO THE NEXT PART.EVERY BODY HAS A DIFFERENT APPROACH, I AM WAITING UNTILL THE BODY IS DONE BEFORE I START THE DRIVTRAIN BUT SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO DO IT OTHER WAYS. JUST JUMP IN AND START LEARNING-- THERE PROBABLY ISN'T A BETTER WAY TO BOND WITH A TEENAGER AND KEEP HIM OUT OF TROUBLE THAN TO DO A CAR PROJECT AND GO SEARCHING TOGETHER FOR PARTS. PLUS YOU COULD RECRUIT HIS FREINDS FOR HELP IN THE GARAGE--KEEPS MORE KIDS OFF THE STREET AND INTRODUCE MORE YOUNG PEOPLE TO THE HOBBY---IF YOU TAKE THAT ATTITUDE THE TIME ALONE IS WORTH ANYTHING IT COSTS--
Restoring a 1969 GS400 Convertable Stage 1.
wow, what a find! the first year for the Stage option and a convertible to boot. 1 of 212 vert Stages built this year...
Motor is in car minus carberator has the stage1 stickers on valve covers and stage1 hood emblems in place. No transmission or driveshaft.
the driveshaft is meaningless, the correct code Stage carb can be gotten if you're willing to wait ... but that missing trans is a killer for any hopes of a "numbers matching" resto. i believe a portion of the VIN is stamped on the correct trans.
otoh, this is a great opportunity to upgrade to a 200r4 or Tremec. such a move may not hurt the resale value at all.
are you doing this to flip or for personal satisfaction? having a car professionally resto'd can easily run over $50,000. obviously, if you're going to do the majority of work yourself it will come in quite a bit cheaper but you should still be expecting to spend in the 10s of thousands to have a 'decent' resto.
I will check VIN numbers this week for verification if someone here can help?
verify what?
color, top and trim will be on the trim tag on the firewall.
The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
Vladimir Lenin
Government schooling is about "the perfect organization of the hive."
H.H. Goddard, Human Efficiency (1920)
Junior Member
446679H191592
pics ar taken will follow soon
have to admit was kinda fun digging around in th car looking things over
Junior Member
no tag on firewall
Junior Member
hmmmmm ok how do i post a pic?
Junior Member
notice last tagged 73!
has 70K on speedo
no rust through some surface rust
What you guys think? is it worth it?
ran out of time to drop the tank ...
someone mentioned a paper in the drivers side post? how do you get in there?
Last edited by 16yr old son has gs455; 01-24-2007 at 05:51 PM.
sure nuff.
you can also establish a www.photobucket.com account for free and host much larger files so we can see more detail.
see my trans bell thread:
http://www.teambuick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9781
The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
Vladimir Lenin
Government schooling is about "the perfect organization of the hive."
H.H. Goddard, Human Efficiency (1920)
Junior Member
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